Hong Kong’s Cleo Lai, 2, celebrates new life thanks to heart donated from mainland China
Cleo Lai kisses cheek of health minister Lo Chung-mau at party marking two years since unprecedented cross-border life-saving arrangement
A Hong Kong child who received a life-saving heart transplant under an unprecedented cross-border donation arrangement two years ago attended a party held at a public hospital on Sunday to celebrate her “new life”.
But other patients remain in need, with the city on track to record its lowest number of heart donations since 2011.
In a social media post by the Health Bureau, Cleo Lai Tsz-hei, now a cheerful two-year-old brimming with energy, was seen kissing the cheek of health minister Lo Chung-mau at the party held at Hong Kong Children’s Hospital in Kowloon Bay.
“I was worried that she would be scared by so many strangers, including me, and would cry. But to my surprise and delight, she did not, and she was so cheerful and adorable, she even called me yeh yeh,” Lo told the Post, referring to a Chinese term for an older man.
“I’m thrilled. It’s the power of organ donation and transplant. I saw tears in her eyes, and my eyes.”
The bureau wrote the minister was happy to see Cleo growing up healthy and happy just like any other child.
“Being able to witness a critically ill child recover and live a normal life is the ultimate fulfilment of the healthcare profession,” it added.